Spiraling Cherries
by Wilhelm Fink
Summary: Naruto has always admired Sakura...perhaps even loved her, but she has never seen him for more then a class clown. He has tried everything to impress her but has failed thus far. Read and see if this lovestruck ninja can get his girl.
1. That Rainy Day Pt 1

> **Spiraling Cherries  
  
Chapter 1: That Rainy Day Pt.1  
**  
Naruto stabbed a kunai into the side of a large brown oak tree. He launched himself upward and onto a branch near the top. He rested on the branch he landed on and looked out through the leaves. The late summer sky was a burnt orange as the sunlight slowly slipped away behind the mountains on the horizon. Leaves in the trees were beginning to change from green to orange, red and brown. The colors of the trees made the area around the hidden leaf village of Konohagakure look like the ground was on fire. The blonde haired ninja gazed down at the girl he had admired, and perhaps even loved for the past five years. She nimbly bounced from tree to tree, slashing the trunk with her own kunai.  
  
The next Chuunin exam was to begin in a few days and Kakashi was taking out his team out for some extra practice. Sasuke, was obviously working the hardest after being cheated out of being a Chuunin during the last tournament when the Sand and Sound Nins invaded Konohagakure under the command of Orochimaru. Even after selling his soul to the evil Akatsuki ninja, he still told himself he wasn't strong enough to win the tournament to become a Chuunin. Sakura was still ever determined to show Sasuke that she wasn't as weak as he thought and win his affection once and for all.  
  
After watching his teammate for a few more minutes, he back flipped out of the tree and flew downward. As he was about to land on the ground, Sasuke dashed out from behind the tree and Naruto collided with the speeding ninja and slammed his face into the ground.  
  
"Get the hell off of me you idiot!" Sasuke scowled.  
  
"You got in my way!" Naruto yelled, waving his hands in the air.  
  
Sasuke push Naruto off of him and stood up. He brushed the dust off of his dark blue shirt and began walking away. Naruto caught Sakura out of the corner of his eye running toward the dark haired Uchiha warrior. She outstretched her hand toward him as if she was going to grab his shoulder.  
  
"Sasuke-kun! Are you alright?" she inquired.  
  
"I'm fine," he said as he continued to walk.  
  
Her hand fell from the air slowly and she slumped over with a frown on her face. Kakashi walked up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry about him Sakura, he is just so focused on winning the tournament that he doesn't want to be bothered right now,"  
  
Sakura left her sensei's grip and walked over to an oak tree on her left. She sat down and draped her arms on her knees. Naruto stood up from where he crashed into Sasuke and walked over to her,"  
  
"Sakura?" he asked.  
  
"Leave me alone Naruto! I don't want to talk right now!" she shouted.  
  
Naruto turned around and sighed.  
  
_I don't understand it. What am I doing wrong?  
_  
"Naruto!" Kakashi called.  
  
Naruto turned to his left and saw him motioning for him to come over by him. He trudged over to Kakashi and looked up at him.  
  
"Hmm?" he asked.  
  
"How about you show me what that Rasengan can realy do,"  
  
Naruto smiled. "You got it!"  
  
He jumped back a few feet and stuck his hand out in front of him. He focused his attention to the middle of his palm and tuned out the world around him.  
  
_Focus...focus...focus  
_  
A small tornado formed above the palm of his hand which slowly began to solidify and glow a brighter and brighter yellow.  
  
_Focus...focus...focus_  
  
Once it was a fully solid object, Naruto threw his hand back and hit the tree in front of him. Upon contact, it made a huge cloud of smoke and splinters flew everywhere. Once the smoke had cleared, Naruto still had his hand extended but where the middle of the tree had been was a giant hole. Sweat dripped off of Naruto's cheek and he fell backwards panting.  
  
Sasuke sat in the shadows watching in amazement.  
  
_How could he develop that much power? Even the Chidori can't do that!  
_  
The explosion caused Sakura to look up in Naruto's direction. Her green eyes widened when she saw the huge hole in the tree. She stood up and walked over to Kakashi and Naruto.  
  
"Di...did he do that?" she asked.  
  
Kakashi nodded. Sakura looked down at her teammate that was lying on the ground.  
  
_That must've taken a lot of chakra out of him. He isn't usually one to be done after only one attack.  
_  
The wind quickly picked up and Kakashi looked over to the horizon. He could see dark gray clouds moving in quite quickly. Lightning flashed within the cloud, lighting in up. Small droplets of rain began to fall over Team 7 as they looked up toward the sky. Kakashi picked up the tired Naruto and motioned for Sasuke and Sakura to follow him. As the began to walk through the woods, the rain began to pick up and thunder rumbled loudly overhead. They picked up their walking pace and arrived at Kakashi's house a minute later. The Jounin ninja opened his door and brought his students inside.  
  
"Make yourself at home. We're going to be here all night," Kakashi told them while he lay Naruto down on the couch.  
  
"But we don't have an extra change of clothes Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura fretted.  
  
"I have some spare clothes in my room. Let me get them,"  
  
He disappeared down the hallway and into his beroom. Sakura looked around the living room and smiled.  
  
"What a nice place don't you think Sasuke?"  
  
When no answer came, she turned around and saw he wasn't there. She turned toward a doorway on her left and walked into a now illuminated kitchen. Sasuke was standing in front of the counter reaching for a box of cereal. He grabbed it and looked at the front as if he were scanning it for poison. He turned it over and looked on the back.  
  
"Heh. Like anyone would do a maze on a cereal box," he said to himself quietly.  
  
Sasuke placed the box on the kitchen table and went to another cabinent to find a bowl. Sakura walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room. She decided to go sit down on a big black leather chair. She plopped herself down on the chair, looked up at the ceiling and sighed.  
  
Stuck here all night. At least i'm with Sasuke! But Naruto is here too. I want Sasuke to notice me but...Naruto has really impressed me lately. Especially today with that technique. What am I thinking. I don't like Naruto. Never.  
  
Sakura glanced over at her blonde comrade who had since fallen asleep. She quickly turned away and looked over to Kakashi's bookcase.  
  
"Seventeen volumes of 'Come Come Paradise' and...nothing else," she said to herself quitely.  
  
"Ok everyone, i've got your clothes!" Kakashi said, holding up three t-shirts and pairs of shorts.  
  
Sakura walked up to Kakashi and took the a shirt and shorts.  
  
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei. Can I go change in the bathroom?"  
  
"Second door on the right," he told her.  
  
She walked past him and down the hall. Kakashi went into his kitchen and saw Sasuke sitting at the table, eat his cereal and looking at the ingredients of the box.  
  
"It's not going to kill you Sasuke,"  
  
"You can never be too sure," Sasuke said,  
  
"Here,"  
  
Kakashi tossed a black shirt and blue shorts to him. Without turning around, Sasuke caught the clothes and placed them on the table. Kakashi's next destination was the living room where Naruto slept. He saw him sleeping on the couch and placed an orange shirt and red shorts on his face. As Naruto inhaled, he began to choke on the fabric.  
  
Naruto coughed a few times and turned toward Kakashi. "What the hell!? Are you tryin' to kill me?"  
  
"It's just dry clothes,"  
  
Naruto looked down at them and stood up sleepily. Kakashi went back into the kitchen to cook something for dinner and saw that Sasuke was still looking at the box. Back in the living room, Naruto walked down the hall muttering to himself.  
  
"That Kakashi waking me..."  
  
He opened the door to the bathroom and saw Sakura pulling her red uniform off. He quickly slammed the door and ran down the hall and jumped onto the couch.  
  
_What are the consequences for what i've just seen? What kind of thoughts will run through my head?_  
  
Sakura peeked out of the batroom and shrugged. Naruto's head popped up from above the arm of the couch. He stood up and picked up his clothes. He walked down the hallway and nervously knocked on the door.  
  
"Um...are you in there Sakura?" he asked.  
  
She flung the door open and turned the light off.  
  
"It's all yours," she said.  
  
Naruto gave a nervous smile and stepped inside the bathroom to change. Sakura walked down the hall and into the kitchen where Kakashi and Sasuke sat at the table.  
  
"Sasuke, there is nothing wrong with the cereal," Kakashi said again.  
  
Kakashi decided to give up and turned around. "Oh, hello Sakura. There is ramen cooking in the microwave. It'll be done in a few minutes,"  
  
"Sounds good Kakashi-sensei,"  
  
Sakura sat down on a chair next to Sasuke and looked out the window. Raindrops pounded on the glass, making little pinging sounds. The sky was black now. The sun had set and the clouds covered the stars and moon. Tress branches whipped back and forth from thw howling winds.  
  
"Looks like we got a pretty nice spray out there," Kakashi said.  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
Naruto walked out of the bathroom with the dry clothes on. He could smell the scent of ramen floating through the air. It drew him to the kitchen where he joined his teammates and sensei.  
  
"I see you've decided to join us Naruto," Kakashi laughed.  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
The short sound of the microwave going off made Sasuke shoot up from his chair and pull a kunai out of the khaki pouch on his belt. Sakura and Naruto looked at him like he was nuts.  
  
"Sasuke. It's just the microwave," Kakashi told him.  
  
Sasuke looked behind him and sat back down. Kakashi went over to the microwave and took out four steaming cups of ramen. Before he could even place the tray on the counter, Naruto ran up, grabbed his cup and ran back to the table. A goofy smile crossed Naruto's face.  
  
"It's eatin' time!"  
  
Sakura sighed and walked up to the counter to get a cup. Instead of taking one, she took two. She returned to the table and placed the two cups down. One in front of her and the other next to Sasuke.  
  
"I got your cup for you," she told him.  
  
He looked over to the cup and looked back at her. He grabbed the cup and pulled it in front of him. Naruto walked up to the counter with an empty cup.  
  
"Is there anymore?" he asked.  
  
"Nope," Kakashi said. "Why don't you go into the living room and watch tv,"  
  
Naruto left the kitchen and went over to the couch he previously occupied. He picked up the remote and turned the television on. It flipped on but all that showed up was black and whit snow on the screen.  
  
"Hey! The television won't work!" Naruto yelled.  
  
"Just turn it off and look at one of my books!" Kakashi shouted back.   
  
After catching what he just said, he walked out into the living room.  
  
"Nevermind Naruto,"  
  
When he turned back into the kitchen, the lights shut off and all power to the house was lost.  
  
**End Notes: That was probably the longest chapter i've ever written. This is just a change from most of my other stories that I have to write from time to time (My DBZ fic 'Wondering' for example). This'll most likely be a pretty long story...at least 20 chapters. This, if you haven't noticed yet, will be a NaruSaku fic. Other couples will probably be included, just review and tell me what you want and i'll try to fit it in. BTW, sorry if some characters seem a bit OOC.**


	2. That Rainy Day Pt 2

**Spiraling Cherries  
  
Chapter 2: That Rainy Day Pt 2  
**  
The rain continued to pound away at the small forest home. Rain had now turned to quarter sized hail which began to tear up the roofing. Sakura sat curled up on her chair, scared out of her wits. Naruto managed to make his way to the kitchen to join his sensei and teammates.  
  
"What is going on Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, but there was no answer. "Kakashi-sensei?"  
  
Lightning illuminated the room to show that he and Sasuke had disappeared. Sakura screamed as loud as she could. "Naruto!"  
  
The blonde ninja ran over to Sakura and knelt down beside her, putting his hand on her arm. "I'm here Sakura-chan,"  
  
She looked over to his with tears running from her eyes. "Do you -hiccup- think it was a -hiccup- Sound Nin?"  
  
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and looked to where Kakashi previously stood. "I can't be sure. But to be safe we should go to another room, in case they come back. If this is a Sound Nin attack that is,"  
  
Naruto took Sakura's hand and lifted her from the chair. She looked up and Naruto and wiped the tears from her eyes with her oher hand.  
  
_I've never seen Naruto like this. Taking charge of a situation._  
  
Even with the occasional flashes of lightning, the room remained very dark. They stumbled over books and magazines until they reached the black leather couch. He led her around the front of it and sat her down.  
  
"Stay here. I'll keep watch just in case something happens," he said firmly, pulling three shuriken out of his khaki pouch.  
  
"Naruto..." Sakura began, but stopped herself.  
  
_He's never done this before. He is being so brave. And he's doing it just to protect...me..._  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Naruto squinted his eyes to try to improve his vision in the dark but nothing happened. The hail outside showed no signs of lightening up. The pieces of ice slammed against the house more rapidly then before.  
  
A sudden crash in the direction of the window made Sakura scream. Naruto turned quickly and saw a quarter sized hole in the window pane. He walked over to Sakura and sat next to her on the couch.  
  
"Don't worry, it was just hail,"  
  
She gave him a little smile and then let herself fall backward into the back couch cusion. She wrapped her arms around her and began to shiver a bit.  
  
_Wow, she must be cold. The power has been out for a while now.  
_  
In the corner of his eye, Naruto spotted a blanket lying on the arm of the chair across the room. He got up, walked across the room, picked up the blanket and walked back. Naruto draped the blanket over his shivering teammate and stood back up. Sakura turned her head toward Naruto and smiled.  
  
"Thank you Naruto,"  
  
He turned around and smiled back. "No problem Sakura-chan,"  
  
As he began to walk away, she grabbed his wrist. "Why don't you join me,"  
  
Naruto sat down next to the girl he had for so long had though was only a fantasy of having.  
  
_What's going on? Is it possible that she could possibly be over Sasuke?_  
  
Sakura took some of her large blanket and placed it on him. Naruto smiled and grabbed the edge of the blanket and finished pulling it on him. Hail continued to pelt the house while the two sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Naruto spoke up.  
  
"I hope this storm lets up soon,"  
  
"Yeah. That would be nice," Sakura replied.  
  
A crash in the kitchen sent them shooting into the air. When they landed, Naruto grabbed two kunai from his pouch and walked toward the kitchen.  
  
"Naruto wait!" Sakura whispered.  
  
He turned back toward her and smiled. "I'll be fine,"  
  
Naruto slowly walked into the pitch black room. He looked back and forth trying to sense what was inside the kitchen. Back in the living room Sakura hid on the floor next to the coffee table with her back against the couch. Naruto continued to walk cautiously through the kitchen, searching for the intruder. Another rustling noise to his right made him slash his kunai through the air, only to have his wrist grabbed by a hand. As he turned to slash the person that grabbed him, the lights flicked back on. Kakashi smiled down at him.  
  
"Had you going there didn't I?"  
  
"Kakashi!"  
  
Sakura ran into the kitchen and smiled. "Kakashi-sensei!"  
  
Sasuke walked in from the doorway next to the cabinents.  
  
"Sasuke-kun!!!" Sakura cried happily.  
  
She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He stood there and looked down at her without changing his permenantly fixed angry expression.  
  
Naruto stood across the room sadly watching Sakura gush over Sasuke's return. He turned away to the living room and began walking out of the room.  
  
_Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I can't do anything to make like me...  
_  
As he left the room, Sakura saw him sadly walking away.  
  
_What's wrong with Naruto? Shouldn't he be happy that Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun are back?  
_  
She stopped hugging Sasuke and followed Naruto into the dimly lit living room.  
  
"Naruto?" she asked from the doorway  
  
He glanced up at her for a second then returned staring at the blue carpet. "What?" he asked sadly.  
  
"Is there something wrong?"  
  
"No..." he replied.  
  
Sakura stood in the doorway for a moment watching Naruto stare sadly at the floor. She walked over to him and sat down. The pink haired Genin placed her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"You can tell me anything Naruto,"  
  
He glanced up at her again. "You wouldn't understand this," he sighed.  
  
Sakura knew very well what was troubling him but wanted to have him admit it to her face. Eventhough she was completly head over heels over Sasuke, she had always known Naruto had liked her. She thought back to the days when they first became Genins and how he tried to hard to impress her. Lately she had been quite impressed with his heroic behavior, especially tonight.  
  
Naruto looked over to Sakura, who he could tell was deep in thought. He looked up into her eyes and sighed. "Sakura?"  
  
She looked over to her blonde teammate and answered. "What is it?"  
  
"Sakura...I just need to get this off of my chest. I really like you. I know we've been through this situation before where i've liked you but you didn't like me back. I just want you to see me for more then the class clown and more of a friend. That's all I ask," he said before bowing his head back down.  
  
Sakura was lost for words at the moment. She was amazed that something like that could come from the little boy who painted the faces of the Hokages on the mountain nearly five years prior.  
  
"Naruto, tonight you proved that you were more then a class clown. In fact you acted more like the hero that you always talked about being more than ever,"  
  
Naruto looked back up into Sakura's green eyes and smiled. Sakura returned the smile and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up and walking back to the kitchen. After watching her leave, he gazed up at the white ceiling.  
  
_Maybe I was wrong about being wrong.  
_  
**Notes: Sorry this was so short. I didn't want to keep you guys hanging. I promise the next chapter will be a lot longer. Again, if you have any suggestions for couples/situations etc., I may be able to fit them in the story, just review them in.**


	3. Calm Before the Storm

**Spiraling Cherries**  
  
**Chapter 3: Calm Before the Storm**  
  
**Notes: Since I didn't post the ages in the first chapter (like I should've) here they are. Naruto: 16, Sasuke: 16, Sakura: 16, Neji: 17, Rock Lee: 17, TenTen: 17, Shikamaru: 16, Ino: 16, Choji: 16, Kiba: 16, Hinata: 16, Shino: 16, Konohamaru: 12, Moegi: 12, Udon: 12. The fic does take place 4 years in the future so it is after the whole Orochimaru thing.  
**  
The sun slowly rose over the hidden leaf village of Konohagakure. As the new day dawned, so did the hope of thirty Genin ninjas. This was the final day of sign up and training for the next Chuunin exam. This certain Chuunin exam was even more special then the last as it marked the return of peace within the hidden villages.   
  
Beams of sunlight filtered through Naruto's window. As the sunlight made a resting place over his eyes, it jolted him from his sleeping state. The Genin turned over and rubbed his eyes slowly. He placed his feet on the floor and smiled.  
  
_Today is the last day of preperation. I'll show Sakura who the real best ninja in Konohagakure can do._  
  
Naruto stood up and walked to his bathroom across the hall, the floorboards creaking under his feet. When he reached his destination. he grabbed his toothbrush and shot some toothpaste out of the tube and onto the brush. The brush moved back and forth against his teeth for about a minute before he spit the remaining toothpaste into the sink and placed the brush down. He raised his arms into the air and stretched, getting rid of the remaining kinks in his back. Naruto walked out of the bathroom and back into his room to change his clothes.  
  
_Hmmm...i'll be training a lot today. Might as well dress light.  
_  
He put on a black shirt with a white swirl like object on the front and orange shorts. He ran downstairs and put on his sandles before going outside. The sunlight warmed his face and made him smile.  
  
"What a great day to train,"  
  
Naruto began walking down the street toward the woods that Kakashi had told them to meet three days prior. It had been that long since his night with a frightened Sakura. To him, it felt longer then that. The image of the quick kiss she gave him had run through his mind over and over since that night. It made him feel even better to know that she didn't hate him anymore. He could remember the days as an upcoming Genin, fresh out of the ninja academy.

**-Flashback-  
**  
"I'm Haruno Sakura, the thing I like is...well...the person I like is...Umm...should I say my dream for the future? Oh my!!! The thing I dislike is...Naruto!"  
  
"Nooo!"

**-End Flashback-**  
  
He laughed. "Those were some crazy days,"  
  
As he passed Ichiraku's Ramen Bar, Sakura came running out of it.  
  
"Naruto!"  
  
He turned around and saw the pink haired girl running toward him.  
  
He smiled. "Hello Sakura, how are you?"  
  
"I'm fine. Are you on your way to meet Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke in the woods?"  
  
_Sasuke? What happened to Sasuke-kun?  
_  
"Uhh yeah. Care to join me?"  
  
"Sure!"  
  
Naruto and Sakura walked down the dusty dirt path toward the main part of town, talking about the upcoming Chuunin exam on the way.  
  
"It's so exciting that we get another chance to become Chuunin," Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah. This time i'll definatly win the tournament!" Naruto yelled.  
  
Sakura giggled.  
  
"What? You think your 'Sasuke-kun' will beat me?"  
  
"No, i'm just laughing at the way you said it,"  
  
Naruto turned away puzzled. "Well then,"  
  
A few minutes later, Naruto's young friend Konohamaru came running up to him, with his friends, and teammates, Moegi and Udon. Naruto turned around and placed his hand on Konohamaru's head.  
  
"Hey Konohamaru, what are you so excited about?" he asked.  
  
"Since we just finished our first C-Rank mission, Ebisu said we can participate in the Chuunin exam!!!" Konohamaru exclaimed.  
  
"That's great Konohamaru!" Sakura said, moving from behind Naruto.  
  
"Sakura's here!? This is different," Konohamaru said.  
  
He stood for a second thinking. A goofy smile then came to his face. "I know what this is," he laughed.  
  
"You shut up!" Naruto shouted.  
  
Konohamaru ran off with his friends laughing. Sakura turned to Naruto with a confused look.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
"I don't know. It must be some twelve year old thing," Naruto replied.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Go! Climb as high as you can!" Kakashi yelled.  
  
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all ran up three seperate trees, trying to make make their chakra stronger. Sakura was the first to give in to gravity, she slashed the tree with her kunai and backflipped off of the tree and onto the ground.  
  
"Looks like a new record for you Sakura,"  
  
Seconds later, two objects hit the ground and produced two puffs of dust, making it hard to see what had happened. The brown dust floated through the air, making it hard for Kakashi and Sakura to breathe. When the dust cleared, they could see Sasuke and Naruto crouched down on the ground. Kakashi walked over to them and saw the indentations they made on the ground.  
  
_They must've jumped from at least the top of the tree.  
_  
He himself ran up Sakura's tree and looked back and forth at Naruto and Sasuke's trees, looking for a kunai marking. When he reached the top of the tree he looked at Sasuke, then Naruto's trees.  
  
There aren't any marks! When there was no tree left, they must've jumped out of the tree and flew up into the air.  
  
Kakashi jumped down and looked at his two students.  
  
"Who went higher Kakashi?" Naruto asked.  
  
"Move from your spots,"  
  
Sasuke and Naruto did as Kakashi said and walked back towards Sakura. Kakashi inspected the indentations and turned around.  
  
"It looks like Naruto's is the deepest...but not by much," he said.  
  
"Oh yeah!" Naruto shouted. "In your face Sasuke,"  
  
"That can't be right," Sasuke said.  
  
"It is Sasuke. Naruto's is the deepest," Kakashi told him.  
  
Sasuke scowled and walked away from the group.  
  
"Would you rather spar?" Kakashi asked.  
  
Sasuke turned around with a smirk on his face. "That would be much better,"  
  
The black haired Genin turned back to his team and pointed at Naruto. "You,"  
  
"Oh coarse," Naruto replied. "Why would you chose anyone else?"  
  
Kakashi walked between them for a moment. "Here's the rules. Number one, no using the Chidori or Rasengan,"  
  
"That's fine. I don't need the Chidori to beat this clown," Sasuke said.  
  
"And number two, no killing each other,"  
  
Kakashi walked over to Sakura and stood next to her, waiting for one of them to make the first move.  
  
"Do you really have to tell them not to kill each other?" Sakura asked, a bit frightened.  
  
"They may seem like friends sometimes but deep inside, they hate each other with a passion," Kakashi said.  
  
Sasuke reached into his khaki pouch on his belt and pulled out a kunai. He ran as fast as he could at Naruto, making a trail of dust behind him. He slashed his kunai at Naruto's head, but his attack was countered by Naruto's own kunai. They both pushed at each other's head as hard as they could.  
  
"I am going to slash your face open!" Sasuke shouted.  
  
Naruto glared at his teammate and kicked him in the stomach, knocking him backward. He ran at Sasuke and tried to cut his forehead but the Uchiha warrior rolled out of the way. Sasuke launched himself upward and landed on his feet.  
  
"You've gotten faster Naruto," Sasuke said.  
  
"Thank you,"  
  
"But not fast enough!" Sasuke said from behind him.  
  
Sasuke slashed Naruto's back, but Naruto dissappeared in a puff of smoke.  
  
"What?!"  
  
Sasuke turned around and saw three shuriken flying toward him. He quickly dodged them to the side, but felt a sharp pain in his back. He placed his hand on his back and felt something wet. Sasuke brought his hand in front of his face and saw it was soaked with blood.  
  
_H-how could he get so fast and skilled with his Kage Bushin no Jutsu?_  
  
He turned around slowly and saw Naruto standing a few yards away.  
  
"Don't under estimate me Sasuke. I'm not the little class clown anymore,"  
  
Sasuke closed his charcoal eyes for a moment. "Naruto. You may thing you have the upper hand, but I have yet to get started!"  
  
He reopened his eyes, both of them now were red with two black swirling objects inside. He pulled out a large shuriken, seemingly out of nowhere and threw it at Naruto.  
  
"Sharingan Soufuusha Sannotachi!"  
  
Naruto nimbly dodged the shuriken and laughed. "Is that all you got?"  
  
What he didn't see was that Sasuke was moving the shuriken in the air with his hands. Naruto could feel a tight string wrapping around him. The string continued to wrap around him until he couldn't move his arms or legs. Sasuke held up the string with his two fingers and smiled.  
  
"Ryuuka no Jutsu!"  
  
"Sasuke no!" Kakashi shouted.  
  
The Jounin ninja ran over to his student and knocked him aside before he could complete the attack. He took a kunai from his pocket and cut the string, setting Naruto free.  
  
"Sasuke! I specificly said not to kill anyone,"  
  
Sasuke sat there without saying a word. Kakashi stood up and walked over to Naruto and Sakura.  
  
"I think it would be best if we call it a day. See you tomorrow at the exam,"  
  
"Goodbye Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said.  
  
Sakura and Naruto walked out of the woods quickly, to make sure Sasuke wouldn't attack again.  
  
"What's his deal?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Ever since we brought him back he's been like this," Naruto said.  
  
The teammates continued to walk through town, just as they were about to reach Sakura's house, she spoke up.  
  
"Naruto?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you think you could show me that Kage Bushin no Jutsu that you used against Sasuke?"  
  
Naruto looked over to her. "It's not as easy as it looks. I've been doing it for four years now,"  
  
"Oh..." Sakura replied sadly.  
  
Naruto sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Do you really want to learn it?"  
  
She looked up to him and nodded.  
  
"C'mon, let's go to the other side of the woods,"  
  
**End Notes: The Chuunin exam will be coming up next, be prepared for some extreme surprises.**


	4. The Chuunin Exam: Round 1 Pt 1

**Spiraling Cherries**

**Chapter 4:The Chuunin Exam: Round 1 Pt 1**

**Notes: Since I want to get to the fighting part of the Chuunin exam, the test and forest parts will be left out so we can see more ACTION! I may release these parts later in some sort of 'Lost Chapters' thing. I'd also like to add that a side story called 'Sand Swept' is in the works and focuses around Gaara and Temari. Look for that in the upcoming week.**

The oak door that was the entrance to Naruto's house slowly opened. Naruto made his way inside slowly, carrying Sakura in his arms. He brought her over to his couch and lay her down. He then went upstairs and took a blanket from his bed to cover Sakura with. As he walked down the stairs he sighed, being tired himself.

_That jutsu must've taken quite a bit out of her._

He placed the blanket over her and entered the bathroom upstairs to change into a clen t-shirt and shorts.

--**Flashback**--

"Ok Sakura, this is what you have to do," Naruto said. "Now pay close attention,"

Naruto made a seal with his hands and shouted. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Four soild Naruto's appeared next to him. "Now is you use just a little bit of chakra as I just did, you get three or four solid clones. If you use large amount of chakra, which in turn can be very dangerous, you can create thousands of clones,"

The four Naruto clones that stood next to him vanished. "Now try it yourself,"

Sakura made the same seal as Naruto and shouted. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

An imcomplete clone appeared next to Sakura. Naruto gave a quick laugh. "I had the same problem. Just try to visualize the clone in your mind becoming an actual person,"

Sakura closed her eyes and tried again. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

This time three fully developed clones appeared on her right side.

"Yay! I did it Naruto!" she shouted happily.

"Now try to do it again, but with a larger quantity,"

She focused on the technique as she did before and fifty clones appeared around her. Naruto smiled and did the technique himself, making fifty of his own clones.

"Now let's train,"

--**End Flashback**--

Narut plopped down on his bed and pulled the covers up to his chest. "Today was a good day," he said yawning.

He quickly drifted off into a deep sleep with only tomorrow's Chuunin exam in his dreams.

---

A wall clock rung in the three o'clock hour as Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She sat up quickly and looked around. Still half asleep she was confused with her new surroundings. She stood up slowly and looked around in the dark.

_Where am I?_

She thought back to the previous day to try and shed some light on the situation.

--**Flashback**--

Six of Naruto's clones attacked Sakura at once. She managed to block two of them but the remaining four shot punches at her stomach, sending her to the ground. As Naruto fought ten Sakura clones at once, and doing quite well against them, he tried to punch on of them in the face but before he could hit it, they all disappeared. He himself disbanded his clones and walked over to his fallen comrade.

"Are you alright Sakura?"

She smiled up at him. "Thanks for the jutsu Naruto," she said before passing out.

--**End Flashback**--

"I must be in Naruto's house," she said quietly to herself.

Since she found the answer to her question, she lay back down on the couch and fell back to sleep in a matter of minutes. As she slept, dreams of her own version of the Chuunin exam swam through her head. She could see herself standing on a podium with her arms raised and a Chuunin flak jacket on. Naruto was sitting on a tree branch cheering and her other teammate Sasuke was walking up to her for a hug. Little did she know, things would turn out very different.

---

"Here are the pairings for the tournament!" Tsunade shouted over the crowd of ninjas.

"The first match will be Hyuga Neji vs. Temari!"

Neji and Temari stepped into the ring for their match. They both got into their fighting stances and nodded to the referee. He then signaled for the match to start. Temari ran at Neji and pulled out her giant fan. Neji quickly backflipped out of the way and did a sweep kick as Temari landed. With her legs taken out from under her, Neji punched her into the ground; which in turn caused the concrete to cave in. She tired to regain her breath while she squirmed on the ground.

_How could these Leaf nins get so quick?!_

Neji jumped up into the air and pulled a kunai from him belt pouch. At the height of his jump, he dove down at her looking to strike a killing blow. Just before Neji hit the ground, Temari rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging the metal spike. As she tried to get up, Neji activated his Byakugan. He jumped up toward Temari and shouted. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou,"

He attacked Temari with a barrage of punches, closing up the chakra holes on her body. With no energy left, she fell limply to the ground, knocked out. Neji landed with a grin on his face as the referee announced him as the winner of the match.

"Wow, Neji was pretty impressive," Sakura said to Kakashi.

"Gai says he's been training non-stop," Kakashi replied.

"But there's no way he'll beat me!" Naruto added.

Kakashi and Sakura sighed. Naruto's smile faded and he stood quietly, awaiting Tsunade's next announcment. She walked up to a podium and announced the next match. "The next match is Aburame Shino vs. Uchiha Sasuke,"

Sasuke began walking away from Kakashi to enter the ring, Kakashi placed his hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "Remember. No killing Sasuke,"

Sasuke turned and gave Kakashi a death stare before continuing.

"Sasuke is getting scarier and scarier," Sakura said,

"Don't worry about him. He's just a whiny bastard who thinks he's invincible. I'll show him,"

Sasuke stood in front of Shino with his arms crossed in front of him. He nodded toward the ref, as did Shino. The ref signaled the begin of the match. A split second later, Sasuke was behind Shino. The bug master tried to punch Sasuke but he could only hit air. He then felt three sharp pains in his back which sent him to his knees. With out him knowing, Sasuke had thrown three kunais into his back. Sasuke then ran at the kneeling Shino and kicked him into a wall outside the ring. The crowd gasped as Shino lay on the ground in a crumpled heap. His left knee was bend upwards and his right leg had parts of bone sticking out in various places. Six medics ran to his aid on the side of the ring. Sasuke walked casually back up to his teammates, and an angry Kakashi.

"Sasuke! I told you to take it easy!"

"No, you said not to kill anyone...I didn't," he said calmly.

Naruto and Sakura joined all of the other ninjas that gathered around Shino.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" Hinata asked.

The field doctor looked up. "Both of his legs are broken, he has a punctured lung, three broken ribs and a partially broken neck,"

The group of people looked horrified after the doctor was done talking. "Sasuke should be disqualified!" one ninja yelled. Some people agreed, others didn't say a word.

Tsunade spoke up "Sasuke did win the match so that means he can continue,"

The crowd disbanded as Shino was carried away on a stretcher. Naruto and Sakura walked back up to Kakashi and waited for the next fight to be announced.

"Alright people! We have the next fight! Inuzaka Kiba vs. Gaara!"

The two entered the ring and nodded to the ref right away. Kiba punched the ground, making pieces of concrete and dust cloud up the ring. When the dust cleared, Gaara was holding a knocked out Kiba in the air. As Gaara put him down, Kiba turned into a puff of smoke, and Akamaru appeared in his spot.

"Akamaru!" Kiba screamed.

He looked up at Gaara and growled. "I'm gonna kick your ass you son of a bitch!"

Kiba ran disappeared in a fit of rage and reappeared next to Gaara. He took his arm and chomped down as heard as he could. Gaara shouted as Kiba's canine teeth dug into his wrist. Gaara managed to kick Kiba away but the damage was already done. Blood poured from the veins in Gaara's wrist. Kiba smiled at his opponent.

"Mess with one of us, you mess with the whole pack," Kiba said.

Gaara took his belt off and wrapped it around his wrist tightly. He whinced in pain as he tried to stand up straight.

_If this goes on for too much longer, i'll pass out due to blood loss._

Gaara stood up and motioned for Kiba to attack him. Kiba gladly took the challenge and ran at Gaara. Just as Kiba was about to hit his opponent, Gaara jumped into the air and kicked the back of Kiba's head. Kiba flew through the air for a moment before he crashed to the ground, out cold.

Gaara stumbled off of the ring and towards the medic tent. Naruto looked down amazed at the fight he had just witnessed.

"_Kiba has gotten much better. At least I won't have to worry about him. But Gaara could be a problem when he recovers._

Everyone turned their attention to Tsunade once again and she announced the fourth match. "The next match is TenTen vs. Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura's eyes opened wide. "The weapons master TenTen?"

"Go get her Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura nervously walked down to the ring. As she entered the fighting area she looked over to her opponent. TenTen looked back at her with a determined look on her face.

"I may have been humiliated in the last Chuunin exam...but I won't lose to the likes of you,"

**End Notes: There is the first part of the Chuunin exam for you. More surprises will be included chapter five 'The Chuunin Exam Round 1 Pt 2. I'd also like to add that the side story 'Sand Swept' will be up around Wednesday.**


	5. The Chuunin Exam: Round 1 Pt 2

**Spiraling Cherries**

**Chapter 5: The Chuunin Exam: Round 1 Pt 2**

**Notes: First off, i'd like to thank everyone for all of the reviews. Now i'd like to clear up some things. Moresamare: Kiba didn't beat Gaara, he just caught Gaara off guard with his Akamaru technique and when he bit down he ruptured some veins in Gaara's wrist, that's all. DemonFireGirlHotaru: Yes, Sakura can make copies, every ninja can. That technique is called Bushin no Jutsu. It makes clones but they can't damage an opponent. Kage Bushin no Jutsu is different. The clones are as solid as the user and can hurt the opponent.**

Sakura clenched her teeth and glared at TenTen. She nodded to the ref and the match started. TenTen immediatly summoned hundreds of kunai and tossed them at Sakura. She skillfully backflipped away from the kunai barrage, leaving a trail of them behind her. Once they finished flying through the air, Sakura slid to a stop and smiled.

"Wooo! Nice job Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura began to run towards TenTen. She pulled a kunai of her own out of her belt pouch and threw it as hard as she could at TenTen. The black haired girl easily dodged the flying dagger at tossed a shuriken at Sakura. The pink haired Genin didn't see the flying metal disk as she ran at her opponent. The shuriken hit Sakura in the upper right shoulder, making her spin to the ground. TenTen laughed maniacally.

"I have you now Sakura," she said, pulling four kunai from her pocket.

Sakura struggled to get up. The more she tried, the more her wound bled.

_Dammit! I can't lose. I made a promise to myself that I won't be humiliated like I was against Ino!_

TenTen laughed again. "Say goodnight Sakura,"

She threw her four kunai at the fallen ninja. Just as they were about to connect with their target, Sakura managed to roll out of the way.

_It's hopeless. Wait! There is still one thing I can do!_

Sakura managed to sit up and made the tiger seal with her hands. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Thirty or so clones formed around her and glared at TenTen. In the crowd, Kakashi was taken aback at Sakura's new skill. "How did she learn that?!"

Naruto smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know,"

"You taught it to her Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah. I did after our last session before the exam,"

Kakashi suddenly got a serious look on his face. "Naruto. That's great that you are forming a friendship with Sakura but the consequences of teaching her that technique could be horrible. You, I, Orochimaru and Kabuto are the only people who know how to use that technique. If she falls into the hands of say the Akatsuki Organization, Uchiha Itachi could learn that technique with the use of his Mangekyou Sharingan,"

Naruto gulped, knowing full well what would happen if Itachi got a hold of the technique. "Now do you see why that technique is part of the list of Forbidden Jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes sensei," Naruto said.

Back in the ring, Sakura's clones were slowly being eliminated by TenTen's weapons. With only ten left, Sakura knew that the match was over unless she made a miraculous move.

_There is only one chance left. This jutsu could take too much chakra out of my body, but it's the only way to win._

Sakura made the tigar seal again and shouted. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Hundreds of Sakura clones flooded the arena, all attacking TenTen at one time. Her black haired opponent looked stunned at the technique that had just been unleashed. Even though she managed to destroy twenty or so clones, the number was too staggering for her to fight off all of them. After a flurry of punches and kicks, TenTen fell to the ground out cold.

Sakura smiled. "I did it,"

Right after the ref named her the winner, she passed out herself, exhausted from all of the chakra she had used.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled.

He jumped off of the balcony he was standing on and ran over to him comrade. He picked her up and carried her out of the fighting area. To his surprise, she slightly opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

"I did it Naruto,"

"Yes you did Sakura-chan, good job,"

After their exchange of words, she fell back asleep. Naruto carried her up to the balcony and layed her down next to where he previously stood. Tsunade then came up to a microphone and began to speak. "How about that match folks! The next match of the day will be between Hyuga Hinata and Akimichi Chouji!"

Hinata timidly walked onto the ring and looked over to Chouji who was munching on chips.

"Quit eating and get on with it Chouji!" Shikamaru yelled from the crowd.

"What are you doing here Shikamaru?" Naruto asked. "You've already been promoted to Chuunin,"

"I'm just here to support my team and watch some good fights," he replied. "I heard you improved,"

"You heard right," Naruto replied with a smirk.

"Hey, make it to Chuunin and maybe you could join my team," Shikamaru suggested.

"YOUR team! I though a Chuunin team was all equal!"

"Yeah but. My team is dumber the Chouji's chip bag. They need someone to lead them,"

Naruto laughed. "Don't worry, after this you won't have to worry about a team of dumbasses,"

The fight between Hinata and Chouji had already started. Hinata had her Byakugan activated and was dodging the heavy Chouji left and right. This time when he tried to punch her, she tapped him in the area of his liver, making him double over. While he as bent over, Hinata tapped all over his body until he cried in pain. After seeing what she did, she knelt down next to Chouji and apologized for being to rough.

"She'll never become a Chuunin," a voice said from behind Naruto.

"Neji," Naruto said, without looking.

"I'm looking forward to your battle Naruto. I want to see how much you've improved,"

"You won't be disappointed,"

When Naruto turned his attention back to the ring, Hinata was helping Chouji off of the cement and into a chair.

"Dammit! He quit on me again!" Shikamaru cursed.

Naruto sighed. "Man, I want to fight..."

Tsunade came up to the microphone again and announced the next fight. "Our next match is Uzumaki Naruto vs. Rock Lee!"

Naruto's head shot up. "Showtime!"

The blonde Genin made his way to the ring with a smile on his face the whole way down. He stepped up into the ring and looked over to his opponent.

"Long time no see,"

"I'm looking forward to our match Naruto-san,"

"Well lets not waste anytime,"

They both nodded to the ref and the match began. Rock Lee charged at Naruto with his fist outstretched. Naruto casually side stepped the attack and kicked Rock Lee in the stomach, sending him flying upward.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Naruto clones appeared above Rock Lee and slammed him back into the ground. Rock Lee hit with such force he popped back up after he hit. He slowly stood up and smiled.

"Nice move Naruto-san. But not good enough,"

Rock Lee threw a lightning fast kick at Naruto's head. As his foot connected, there was a loud poof, and a log appeared in his place.

"A substitution technique," Rock Lee said.

"Yeah it is," Naruto said, punching him in the side of the head.

Again, Rock Lee slowly arose and smiled. "You've improved,"

"I have," Naruto replied.

All of a sudden, the ground began to shake. A red glow appeared around Rock Lee as he began to use the Reverse Lotus technique.

_There is no way I can defend against that! I have to stop it before it starts!_

Naruto dashed at Rock Lee. Blinded by power, he couldn't see his opponent coming toward him. Naruto kicked Rock Lee in his temple as hard as he could, knocking him out instantly. Naruto sighed in relief.

"That was too close,"

Naruto walked out of the ring and back up to Kakashi and the still passed out Sakura.

"Smart move Naruto," Kakashi said.

"Thanks,"

Once again, Tsunade walked up to the mic and announced the match. "The seventh match will be between Kankuro and Yamanaka Ino!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One half hour later, Kankuro still had not appeared for his match. The referee gave Ino the win my default and she thankfully walked back to her sensei Sarutobi Asuma.

"I'm not saying I doubt your ability Ino but you got lucky on that one,"

"I know sensei," she replied.

"Where do you think he is?" Naruto asked.

"Probably playing with his puppets," Shikamaru responded.

"Naruto bro!" Konohamaru yelled.

"Konohamaru! You made it!" Naruto said happily.

"Yeah. The test was really hard but I managed to get past it. Moegi and Udon weren't so lucky. I had to find those scrolls alone,"

"Well at least you're here,"

Just as Naruto finished, Tsunade announced the final first round match. "The final match is between Akado Yoroi and Konohamaru!"

The young Genin walked into the ring. He look over at his opponent nervously.

_Naruto bro told me stories about this guy. He even managed to get Sasuke down. This could be bad._

Konohamaru nodded nervously to the ref and the match started. Quicker then he could anticipate, Yoroi kicked him right in the stomach. Konohamaru skidded across the ground until he hit the back wall.

"This should be easy," Yoroi laughed.

He ran over to Konohamaru and placed his hand over Konohamaru's mouth. A blue light surrounded his hand and he began to suck the chakra right out of Konohamaru. Since he hadn't fully developed his chakra control, Konohamaru was out rather quickly. Yoroi stood up and smirked. He kicked the unconscious boy across the ring like a soccer ball. With every kick, Naruto became angrier and angrier.

"I've had enough of this!"

He ran down to the ring and picked Konohamaru up before he could be kicked again. He and Yoroi were caught in a stare down until Yoroi spoke up.

"It's bastards like you the make be sick. Trying to play hero,"

"I'm not trying anymorel. I _am _the hero,"

**End Notes: Wow...that was a stretch. I managed to finish the chapter though. The Chuunin Exam: Round 2 will have even better matches then this one. The side story 'Sand Swept' has hit a snag so it may be up next week instead of today.**


	6. The Chuunin Exam: Round 2

**Spiraling Cherries**

**Chapter 6: The Chuunin Exam: Round 2**

As Naruto carried Konohamaru out of the ring, Sasuke glared down at his teammate.

_I bet he thinks he's the hero now. Konohamaru is weak, he deserves to be beaten like that. He needs a little toughening up._

Naruto passed Sasuke on his way back to Kakashi. They exchanged glances before Sasuke spoke up.

"What do you think you're doing down there?"

"Helping my friend. Something I know you'll never know how to do,"

Naruto took a few more steps before Sasuke grabbed his shoulder. Naruto slapped his hand off and turned his head toward Sasuke.

"Don't touch me,"

Naruto set Konohamaru down next to Kakashi and propped him up against the wall. He looked over to where Sakura was supposed to be but she was gone.

"Kakashi! Where's Sakura-chan?!"

"She woke up while you were down there and went to the bathroom," Kakashi said.

"That's great! That she's awake that is,"

Tsunade walked up to a podium and began to announce the next match. "We will now begin round two with a match between Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata!"

Naruto's eyes widened with fear. After seeing what Sasuke had done to Shino in his last match, he had a right to be scared for his friend.

_Sasuke is going to kill her!_

Hinata walked into the ring and looked over at Sasuke. She was taken aback at his evil smirk that was plastered on his face. She too was scared of him after seeing Shino practically beaten to death.

"Kick his ass Hinata!" Naruto yelled from the stands.

_Naruto-kun!_

"Don't be afraid of him!"

She and Sasuke nodded to the referee and the match began. Hinata activated the Byakugan and stood in the 'Gentle Fist' stance that the Hyuga clan used. Sasuke dashed toward his opponent with three shuriken between his fingers. Hinata held her ground as Sasuke came closer and closer. Sasuke threw the three Shuriken at her, but she easily dodged them. What she didn't know is Sasuke used them only as a distraction. He managed to jump into the air and land behind her. Sasuke kicked her in the back and sent her flying across the ring.

"Shit. He's got her!" Naruto cried.

"Who's got who?" Sakura asked from behind him.

"Sakura-chan!" he yelled, wrapping her into a hug. "You're ok!"

"Thanks for carrying me out of the ring Naruto-kun. That was really nice,"

"Oh no problem Sakura-chan,"

_Wait. Did she just say what I think she did? Naruto-kun? Is she finally over Sasuke?_

"Who's fighting?"

Naruto's happy expression faded. "Sasuke and Hinata,"

"What?! He'll kill her!"

Sasuke had pinned Hinata to the ground, holding a kunai over her head.

"Give up! Give up or I'll stab this kunai right through your head!"

_I mustn't give up!_

Hinata tapped Sasuke's right shoulder and made Sasuke drop his kunai. With him distracted with pain, Hinata managed to escape.

"Go Hinata!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura turned to him with a slightly angry face.

_Go Hinata?_

Hinata stood in the 'Gentle Fist' stance, waiting for Sasuke to attack again. He got up and glared at Hinata.

"You're finished...NOW!"

Sasuke ran at Hinata, who bravely held her stance. He made a seal and shouted. "Bushin no Jutsu!"

Three Sasukes spawned from his body and joined his run at Hinata. Each of them pulled out three kunai and threw them at Hinata. She managed to dodge nine of them, but the remaining three hit her right arm. One of which ruptured the vein in her elbow. Massive amounts of blood spurted from her cut, making her dizzy. Sasuke pulled out another kunai, and with the momentum that he had from the throw, he stabbed it into Hinata's chest.

"Hinata no!" Naruto screamed.

The crowd gasped as she fell to the ground. Sasuke smiled and walked over to her.

"Would you like me to make it quick or slow?"

"I-I give up!" Hinata managed to yell.

The referee announced that Sasuke was the victor and the medics took Hinata to the medical tent. Sasuke scowled and walked up to the balcony where he was confronted by Naruto.

"What the hell do you think you're doing down there? You could've killed her, and god knows what you did to Shino!" Naruto shouted.

"If I want to win, I just aim to kill. Just like I will when I fight you," Sasuke replied.

"And how do you know that I'll make it to fight you?"

"Don't worry...you will,"

Sasuke walked away and disappeared in the crowd. Sakura walked up behind Naruto.

"I heard the whole thing. Did he just complement you?"

"That's as close as I'll ever get,"

"Yeah probably,"

"I do hope Hinata is ok though," Naruto said. "Sasuke almost killed her,"

"She'll be ok, don't worry about it," Sakura assured.

"You're probably right. You were the smartest Genin of our class for a reason,"

Sakura smiled. "That I was!"

"Attention everyone!" Tsunade announced. "The next match will be Yamanaka Ino vs. Haruno Sakura!"

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed. "Again!?"

"This time you'll show her what you can do Sakura-chan,"

Sakura walked down into the ring and looked over to Ino.

_This time it won't end in a double knockout. I'll beat her this time._

"Well Sakura. Looks like this'll be just like last year,"

"The best you can hope for is a tie," Sakura scowled.

"And once I win, Sasuke will be mine!" Ino exclaimed.

"Go ahead, take him," Sakura replied.

"What? What did you say?" Ino asked.

"Take him, I don't care," she laughed.

Sakura nodded to the ref, and Ino followed suit. With no motivation, Ino began the match sloppily. She threw punch after punch at Sakura, which she easily dodged. Sakura punched Ino in the stomach and sent her to the ground. Sakura back off and smiled.

"Where's your motivation Ino? What's wrong?"

Ino glared at Sakura and stood up.

"The motivation to beat you!"

Again, Ino threw sloppy punch and punch which were easily dodged by Sakura. Ino tried to reach into her khaki pouch to take out a kunai but Sakura grabbed her wrist. Sakura pulled Ino toward her and punched her in the side of the head. Sakura dropped her to the ground and walked away.

"Oh yeah Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled.

He gave Sakura a high five walked with her back to their teacher. They sat in some chairs that Naruto had found after his match and got ready to watch the next one. Tsunade walked up to the podium again and announced the next match. "Our next match is Hyuga Neji vs. Akado Yoroi!"

Neji smiled. "Finally a real challenge,"

He walked down into the ring and looked over to Yoroi. He cracked his neck and activated his Byakugan before he nodded to the referee. Once the match started, Neji stood still, waiting for Yoroi to make the first move. Yoroi slowly walked in Neji's direction with a smirk on his face.

"Hyuga. You should give up now. Before I do to you what I did to the boy,"

"In your dreams. You could never touch me even if you tried,"

Yoroi began to run at Neji. "You had your chance!"

Yoroi threw a punch to Neji's stomach but missed. Neji tapped on Yoroi's elbow, making him scream in pain. Yoroi flew to the ground and Neji began to furiously attack his arms and legs. Yoroi began to bleed everywhere on his body, more with every tap. With a break in Neji's attack, Yoroi managed to roll out of the way. Neji went for his head but Yoroi placed his head protector in the way, breaking Neji's pointer and middle fingers. As Neji held his hand, Yoroi grabbed Neji's mouth and began to leech the chakra from his opponent. He took enough for him to recover and dropped the unconscious Neji to the ground.

"H-how could he do that? Neji had it won!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yoroi just picked his openings to attack and lucky for him, they were right," Kakashi said. "It doesn't matter how much a person is injured, it matters how you get hit,"

"Everyone!" Tsunade announced. "We have come to the final match of the second round. Our final match will be Uzumaki Naruto vs. Gaara!"

Naruto laughed. "This should be fun,"

"Naruto, be careful against him," Sakura said. "We don't know what he's fully capable of,"

Naruto nodded to her and made his way down to the ring. Gaara walked out of a dark tunnel from under the stands and nodded to the ref immediately. Naruto did the same and the long awaited rematch between the two rivals began.

Naruto quickly threw four shuriken at Gaara, but his shield of sand deflected them. Gaara stood still with his arms crossed, waiting for Naruto to come closer. Naruto dashed toward his opponent with a kunai in his right hand. He slashed and slashed at Gaara, but his shield blacked him over and over again. Naruto jumped backward and took a deep breath before attacking again.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Five Naruto clones appeared with kunai in their hands as well. They all tried to break through Gaara's sand shield but couldn't. Naruto jumped backward again.

_There's no way I can break through that shield. Kiba just got lucky. There is no way I could catch him off guard like that._

Gaara didn't look amused. "I think it's time we end this,"

Gaara made a seal with his hands. "Sabaku SouSou!"

Sand shot up around Naruto and wrapped around him. The sand began to pour into his chakra holes, making it impossible for him to use any techniques. Naruto could feel his insides being constricted as if he was about to die.

_Is this the end? No! It' can't be. I have to prove to Konohagakure that I can be Hokage. I have to prove to Sakura I am better than Sasuke!_

"C'mon Naruto!" Sakura yelled from the stands.

"Watch," Kakashi said.

Naruto screamed due to the pain. With his screaming, the kyuubi inside him was awakened and it's chakra began to shove the sand out of Naruto's body.

"What the!?" Gaara exclaimed.

Naruto stood in front of him with a grin. "Ever heard of the kyuubi?"

"Enough! It doesn't matter if you have this kyuubi inside of you, you still can't hit me!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Naruto laughed.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Ten Naruto formed around him with th same smirk on their face. At the same time, they all stuck their right hands out in front of them began to swipe across it with their left hand.

_What justu is this?_

"Rasengan!" the Narutos cried together.

Each of them flew toward Gaara and made impact with the shield of sand. The shield managed to hold them off for a moment but then gave way to the power of the Rasengan. The balls of energy hit Gaara and knocked him back wards, leaving marks all over his body. The sand nin lay unconscious on the ground when the smoke finally cleared from the attack.

"Yay Naruto!" Sakura cheered.

_That was so cool!!!_

Naruto walked up to his team and smiled. "I managed a way didn't I Kakashi!"

"Yes, you did but you also could've killed him," Kakashi said.

Naruto's smiled turned into a look of sadness. "I know..but it was the only way I could win,"

**End Notes: I'd like to thank the reviewers for the last chapter. I hope you liked this one too. Chapter 7 will finished off the Chuunin exam and then I'll being a new story arc to follow. Hopefully the semifinals and finals will be up around Sunday or Monday.**


	7. The Chuunin Exam: Rivals Revisited

**Spiraling Cherries**

**Chapter 7: The Chuunin Exam: Rivals Revisited**

"You're students have fared well this tournament Kakashi," Tsunade said. "Especially Naruto and that Sakura girl,"

"Maybe after the tournament I won't have to hold the burden of having the only Chuunin," Asuma joked.

Kakashi laughed. "They've been training like mad for the past month, I knew they'd do well,"

After talking for a few more minutes, Tsunade and the senseis walked out of the room that overlooked the arena. The sun had began to set over the stadium bleachers and dusk quickly approached. Since the tournament had taken longer then expected, Tsunade decided to immediately begin the semifinals matches.

Naruto and Sakura were sitting in their seats with cups of Raman and chopsticks. Konohamaru had finally awakened but he was still very weak from Yoroi's chakra absorbing technique. Naruto had offered to buy him a cup of Raman but he turned it down.

"Naruto bro, what round is going to be starting?" Konohamaru asked.

"Semifinals. Only Sakura-Chan, Sasuke, Yoroi and I are left,"

"If you fight that Yoroi guy...kick his ass for me Naruto bro,"

Naruto placed his hand on Konohamaru's head. "No problem,"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Tsunade said. "The semifinals will begin now!"

Naruto and Sakura quickly finished their Raman cups and listened for their name. "The next match will be Uchiha Sasuke vs. Haruno Sakura!"

"What!?" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed together.

Sasuke smirked evilly while he passed his teammates on his way to the ring. Sakura looked over to Naruto with a frightened look on her face.

"Naruto, I don't think I can do this. He's already nearly killed two others,"

Naruto looked into her eyes. "Sakura, don't think about that. Just focus on kicking his ass,"

She smiled and stood up. "Good luck Sakura," Konohamaru said.

"Thanks,"

Sakura finally made her way to the ring and looked over to her former crush. Sasuke still had his evil smirk plastered on his face. Sakura took a deep breath and nodded to the referee, starting the match. Right as the match began, Sasuke dashed toward Sakura. He through a punch at Sakura's head but she dodged it in time. Even though he was off balance, Sasuke threw a kick at Sakura's stomach and knocked her backward a few feet. Sasuke launched himself into the air and back onto his feet. He ran toward her again and threw another punch. Thinking ahead, instead of dodging Sasuke's punch, she tried to stab a kunai into Sasuke's fist but he retreated his fist and kicked her in the chin instead.

Sakura flopped to the ground and looked up at Sasuke.

"This could be easier than I thought," Sasuke laughed.

Sakura stood up and made the tiger seal. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Three Sakura clones appeared next to her. The four of them pulled kunai's from their pockets and dashed toward Sasuke. Each of them swiped and slashed at Sasuke but every attempt failed. Sasuke jumped back and threw a shuriken at each of the Sakuras standing in front of him. He hit each of them in the leg and the three clones disappeared. Sakura pulled the shuriken out of her leg and tried to make the seal again.

"Kage Bu-"

"Try it again and you're done," Sasuke said from behind her, a kunai held across her neck.

Sakura tried to sweep kick Sasuke's legs out from under him but he blocked her kick with one of his own.

"Don't try any of that with me Sakura. You know you can't beat me. Just give up before I slice your throat," Sasuke threatened.

"You're right Sasuke. I can't beat you. But there is someone who can and I think I'll leave you to him. I Haruno Sakura forfeit this match,"

Sasuke shoved her away from him and walked back to the stands. Sakura walked back to Kakashi, Naruto and Konohamaru. She sighed and flopped down into her chair.

"It's alright Sakura," Kakashi said. "You probably played it safe,"

"I'll take care of him Sakura. Don't you worry about that. I'll definitely kick his ass!" Naruto told her.

"You have to get past Yoroi first Naruto bro," Konohamaru pointed out.

"Don't worry. I'll get him," Naruto assured.

"Now it's time for the final semifinal match!" Tsunade announced. "Akado Yoroi vs. Uzumaki Naruto,"

Naruto walked down to the ring and cracked his neck. As he entered the ring, he saw Yoroi scowling at him from the other side.

"What are you mad about? I haven't even beaten you yet," Naruto taunted.

Yoroi didn't say a word. He nodded to the ref and got into a fighting stance. Naruto did the same and waited for Yoroi to attack him.

_I'm going to punish him for hurting Konohamaru like that._

Without Yoroi knowing, Naruto quickly formed the Rasengan in his right hand and hid it behind his back. Yoroi lit up his hand with a blue chakra aura and began walking toward Naruto like he did against Neji.

"You should give up now. Before I do to you like I did your little friend,"

"Give it up. I'd never surrender to you," Naruto said.

Yoroi ran at Naruto and the blonde ninja braced himself for his attack. Faster than he thought, Yoroi was inches from his face and a blue hand coming toward his mouth. Naruto quickly thrust the Rasengan up into Yoroi's stomach and hit him the same time Yoroi's chakra leeching technique hit his mouth. The two struggled for a moment. Naruto's chakra was being drained and the Rasengan was getting weaker. Even though Yoroi was gaining more chakra, his stomach ws getting ripped apart by Naruto's attack. In desperation, Naruto abandoned the Rasengan and grabbed Yoroi's free arm. He flipped Yoroi over his head and slammed him on the top of his head against the ground. After completing the throw, Naruto collapsed. Knowing that if he didn't get up, it would be a tie and Sasuke would win the Chuunin exam. He managed to use his remaining strength to stand and declare himself the winner before he fell over again.

Konohamaru and Sakura came from the stands and picked him up. Naruto opened his eyes and smiled.

"Just repaying the favor Naruto bro," Konohamaru said.

They carried him up to Kakashi and set him down in his chair where he immediately fell asleep.

"Do you think he'll be ready to fight Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"He'll be fine," Kakashi said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Five minutes later, Naruto awoke from his sleep and stood up. "I feel great!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Just in time," Sakura said. "Your match is about to begin,"

Naruto grinned. "Finally,"

"And now the match you've all been waiting for. The finals of the Chuunin exam. The last match will be Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto!"

The two rivals walked down to the ring and glared at each other for a minute. The two then nodded to the ref at the same time and both shot off toward each other. Naruto threw a punch with his left hand, Sasuke with his right. They both caught each other's punchs and they tried to gain the advantage. Once they found out they were going nowhere, they both back off and tried a different assault on one another. Sasuke took eight shuriken from his pouch and at Naruto. He easily blocked them all away with a kunai but then backed into Sasuke. The angry Uchiha clan member held a kunai to his neck like he did to Sakura.

"This time I won't give you an ultimatum. I will kill you," Sasuke said.

"Like hell you will!" Naruto shouted back.

He took Sasuke's hand and used it to flip him over his shoulder. Naruto stabbed at Sasuke's arm but he managed to roll out of the way. Sasuke jumped up and ran back at Naruto. The two exchanged lightning quick blows, knocking each other back wards.

"You know Sasuke," Naruto began. "This fight has been fun and all but...I think it's time we finish it. Kage Bushin on Jutsu!"

Hundreds of Naruto clones filled the arena behind Naruto. "You're finished Sasuke,"

All of the clones began to attack at once as Sasuke made a seal of his own. "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A giant fireball shot toward the attacking Naruto clones, disintegrating them all into puffs of smoke. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained in the fireball's way.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.

Before Sasuke could celebrate his victory, two sharp pains surged through his body from his shoulders. He turned around and saw a slightly burnt Naruto behind him.

"Now I've dislocated your arms so you can't attack,"

Naruto began to run toward Sasuke. "This is for Hinata!"

He blasted him on the side of the head with a punch and sent him to the ground. He looked down at his rival and smiled. "Who's the best now?"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Naruto had finally beaten Sasuke, and won the tournament. Sakura rushed down from the stands hand wrapped him in a hug.

"You did it Naruto!"

"I know! Now I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage!"

Tsunade's voice came over the loud speaker again, hushing the crowd. "Congratulations Uzumaki Naruto. Now the Chuunin exam wasn't made for just the winner to become a Chuunin, it was to see who has displayed Chuunin level skills. Therefore, the following Genin are now promoted to Chuunin; Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, Gaara or the Sand and Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura stood next to Naruto amazed at what she had just heard. "W-what? Me a Chuunin?"

"You made it too Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed.

The two ran up to their teacher and gave him a hug. "Thanks for everything Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said.

"I knew you guys could do it,"

Sasuke rolled over and stared up into the sky. "What happened?"

"Will all the promoted Chuunin please report to Tsunade-sama for their flak jackets," a voice announced.

"What! I lost! No, that's not possible I am the best in all of Konohagakure!" Sasuke shouted.

He jumped up into the stands and ran out of the stadium. Naruto, Sakura, Neji and Gaara all received their jackets from Tsunade and bowed.

"I suppose this is good bye Gaara," Naruto said.

Gaara turned to him. "For now,"

Shikamaru walked up behind Naruto and tapped him on the back. "Looks like I have a new team,"

"Looks like you do," Naruto replied.

Tsunade walked over to Sakura and pulled her aside. "Sakura, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of coarse Tsunade-sama,"

They walked about ten feet away from the crowd and sat down in some empty bleachers. "Sakura, the reason why I promoted you to Chuunin is because I have a plan for you,"

"A plan?" she asked. "What kind of plan,"

"I'd like to train you to become a medical ninja such as Shizune and myself,"

Sakura smiled. "I'd love to!"

"Come to the woods on the east side of the village in morning two days from now and we shall begin our training," Tsunade told her.

Sakura happily walk over to Naruto and grabbed his arm. She lead him away from the crowd and out of the stadium. The two found a bench and sat down.

"You did really good today Naruto," Sakura said.

"You didn't do too bad yourself," Naruto replied.

"Thanks,"

"Hey, what did Tsunade pull you aside for?" Naruto asked.

"She wants to train me to become a medical ninja like her and Shizune,"

"Then you can heal us if we get hurt on missions," Naruto said.

Naruto looked up and saw Sakura's green eyes staring back at him. They stared at each other for a couple seconds until Sakura leaned in and kissed him. Taken aback at what happened, Naruto sat wide eyed, his mind drawing a blank.

"Well, it looks like my two students have grown up faster then I though," Iruka said.

"Iruka-sensei!" the shouted together.

He laughed. "So I hear you two have become Chuunins now,"

They both nodded and smiled. "Yes we are," Sakura said.

"Hey, how about I treat you two to a cup of Ramen," Iruka suggested.

"Yeah!" Naruto said happily.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they entered Ichiraku's Ramen Bar, Naruto spotted Jiraiya sitting at a table watching two girls sitting at the bar and scribbling in a notebook.

"What are you doing now?"Naruto asked.

"Oh uh Naruto! How uh how's things," Jiraiya asked nervously.

"Good. Sakura and I are Chuunin now," he said proudly.

"That's great. But I came into town to get you Naruto,"

"Get me? For what?" he asked.

"I thought it was time I teach you some new techniques. One you weren't ready for when I taught you the Rasengan,"

"Really!? Wow, let's go!" Naruto exclaimed.

He turned around and saw Iruka and Sakura with frowns on their face. He then looked back to Jiraiya. "How about in a few days,"

Jiraiya stood up. "Alright. See you in a couple of days,"

He walked out of the Ramen bar and Naruto turned to Iruka and Sakura, "How about that Ramen?"

**End Notes: Well, that's the Chuunin exam. Now I get to begin the next story arc. Look for chapter 8 around Monday. Again, thanks so much for the reviews.**


	8. The Training: Familiar Goodbye

**Spiraling Cherries**

**Chapter 8: The Training: Familiar Goodbye**

Naruto crawled out of his bed and walked over to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, combed his hair and changed his clothes for the upcoming day. As he walked outside, Konohamaru came running up to him.

"Naruto bro!"

"Hey Konohamaru, you look a lot better today," Naruto said.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better. But I came to see you to talk about something,"

"Oh really? Well I'm going over to Sakura's before I have to leave to train with Jiraiya, talk with me,"

The two began walking down the street and Konohamaru explained his situation. "You see Naruto bro, there is this girl on team 6 that I really like but she won't talk to me,"

"And who would this girl be?" Naruto asked.

Konohamaru blushed and looked at the ground. "H-Hyuga Hanabi,"

"What!?" Naruto exclaimed.

Konohamaru gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah..."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well, the only advice I can give you is to never give up. You can see where it got me," he said proudly.

"Thanks a lot Naruto bro!" Konohamaru said, running off.

Naruto smiled, knowing he helped his little friend. A few minutes later, he reached Sakura's house. Right as he knocked on the door, Sakura came running out and ran right into Naruto.

"Well I knew you'd be glad to see me but not that glad," Naruto joked.

"Yes, I'm glad to see you, but this is serious Naruto," she said.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"I just got a summon from Tsunade-same...Sasuke's gone,"

---

"I think you know why I've called you here," Tsunade began. "Now this is an A ranked mission. You must find Sasuke and return him to Konohagakure again,"

"This is a troublesome situation. Why can't we just let him go?" Shikamaru asked. "He obviously doesn't want to be here,"

"Because he may know things we don't want to get out to an organization such as Akatsuki," Tsunade said. "Your mission begins tomorrow. You are dismissed,"

Naruto and Sakura walked out of the Hokage's building and turned toward Ichiraku's. They walked in disbelief that their former teammate Sasuke was gone again.

"Why would he run away again? Orochimaru is dead. What could he gain by running?" Sakura asked.

Naruto thought for a second and reminisced about their fight with Orochimaru three years ago.

--**Flashback**--

A beaten up Naruto sat on the ground next to Tsunade and Shizune. He gazed across the battlefield and saw the dead body of Kabuto hanging from a tree with a hole in his stomach. Gai, Asuma, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji and Chouji all lay unconscious scattered all over the place. In front of him, a power struggle was going on between Jiraiya, Kakashi and Orochimaru. The former Akatsuki member had managed to form a field of chakra around him body and tried to hold Jiraiya and Kakashi away for as long as possible.

"Orochimaru! Give up now!" Jiraiya yelled.

Orochimaru scowled at his former teammate and enlarged his chakra field, knocking Jiraiya and Kakashi back.

"There is only one way we can win now," Jiraiya said.

He bit his thumb and wiped the blood on his wrist. Kakashi formed chakra around his hand and looked over to Jiraiya and nodded.

--**End Flashback**--

"I know where he's going!" Naruto shouted.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"He's going to find Itachi,"

---

Sasuke looked into a cave and yelled. "Itachi!"

He continued to look around angrily. Sasuke had been searching all night for his brother. After losing to Naruto, Sasuke had been blinded with anger. His suppressed feeling to kill his brother had bubbled to the surface and he had begun chasing him, like he always wanted to.

Little did Sasuke know, Itachi was watching him from a cliff with his partner Kisame. The Uchiha missing nin smiled and looked over to Kisame. "I've been monitoring him Kisame,"

"And what is your stance on the situation?" Kisame asked.

"He's ready. Let's go,"

---

Night fell across Konohagakure. Most people were sound asleep in their beds, with the exception of Naruto. He lie awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Tomorrow he knew his first mission as a Chuunin would start, as well as starting his training with Jiraiya. The thing that bothered him the most was that he wouldn't see Sakura for months on end. He ripped the sheets off of him and got out of bed.

_I have to see her one last time._

Naruto crept out of his house and walked down the street. He weaved through buildings, dodging the Konoha Military Police on his way to Sakura's house.

Sakura was sound asleep until she heard a knock on her window. Being a light sleeper, almost any sound would wake her up. She rubbed her eyes and saw Naruto waving at her and motioning to open the window. Sakura walked over to the window and opened it. Naruto hopped into her room and smiled.

"Naruto," she said tiredly. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto placed his hands on her hips and brought her closer. "I just wanted to say goodbye,"

Sakura wrapped him in a hug and sighed. "How long will you be gone?"

"I'm not sure. A few months at the least," he said.

She sighed. "It'll be a long few months then. Will you be back before your birthday?"

"I should be,"

Sakura stood up on her toes and kissed him. "I'll miss you,"

Naruto smiled. "I'll miss you too,"

She placed her hands on his chest and kissed him again. She pushed him back toward her bed and smiled. "Would you like to spend the night?"

Naruto smiled back. "I'd love to,"

They crawled under the sheets together and fell asleep.

---

With the window still open, the sun shone brightly onto Sakura's eyes. She rolled over and looked at her alarm clock. The time read 6:16, almost two hours before they were scheduled to leave on their mission. She got up from the bed and looked over to Naruto. He was laying on his stomach with his face buried in the pillow. She smiled and walked downstairs to cook something to eat.

A few minutes later, the smell of bacon woke Naruto out of a sound sleep and he sat up.

"Whoa, where am I at?" he asked himself. Then he remembered.

He made his way to the kitchen and smiled. "Hey Sakura-chan,"

"Hi Naruto-kun, ready for our mission?"

"After I'm done eating of coarse,"

---

Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru and Neji stood in front of Tsunade, awaiting their plan of action.

"Your mission is to retrieve Sasuke and return him to Konohagakure,"

"Yes Hokage-sama," the team of Chuunin said.

They all walked out of the building and made their way to the outskirts of Konohagakure.

"I should lead, just in case he tries to attack," Naruto said.

"And why should you lead? I've been a Chuunin for almost four years now," Shikamaru asked.

"Are you the one who beat him in the Chuunin exam?" he replied bluntly.

"If I was there I could've," Shikamaru said.

Naruto didn't say anything back and decided to yell for their target. "Sasuke! Get back here you bastard!"

**End Notes: Damn this chapter was short. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed but there isn't much to write when you're in between big happenings at the beginning and end of story arcs.**


	9. The Training: Mission 1 FAILED!

**Spiraling Cherries**

**Chapter 9: The Training: Mission #1: FAILED!**

The day slowly wound down to an end. Shikamaru, Naruto and compnay tiredly trudged back to Konohagakure. The sun began to set over the surrounding mountains, barely making it visable. Searching for Sasuke had failed. Naruto nor his comrades could find the missing nin and decided to leave him as that...a missing nin. Neji had the idea that Sasuke ran away to join Akatsuki with his brother but that theory was quickly thrown out the window when Naruto explained their relationship. Naruto knew why he ran out on the Hidden Leaf again. Not for more power, but due to his embarressment that he lost to Naruto. His overinflated ego had finally exploded and he decided to leave. The strange thing was, he wasn't the only one that was missing. The sand nin Temari had also gone missing after losing in the first round to Neji. During their search, Gaara had joined them for a short stint before he decided to go back to Sunagakure.

As the team reached the main street of Konohagakure, they split off in their own seperate directions. Shikamaru turned left, Neji right while Naruto and Sakura kept going forward. Physically drained from searching all day, they walked slowly through the crowd until Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand and led her off to a side street. Instead of going right through the center of Konohagakure, this street bordered the forest and was much less crowded.

"I can't believe we didn't find him," Sakura said. "We failed our first Chuunin mission,"

"We'll talk to Tsunade-sama tomorrow. I'm to tired to go to the tower tonight," Naruto told her.

The two continued to walk down the road and as they passed the Stone Memorial, they spotted Kakashi kneeling next to it. Naruto walked up to his former sensei and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Paying respects to Obito I see,"

Kakashi turned around. "Yes,"

Sakura walked up to Naruto and placed her head on his shoulder. "Hi Kakashi-sensei,"

"Hello Sakura," he said.

He stood up and looked down at Naruto and Sasuke. "I didn't get a chance to congradulate you on your win. That was a very impressive showing. It's strange to think that when you were starting out as Genin, you guys couldn't grab a bell from my hand,"

They laughed. "Those were some fun days. And we learned a lot. Thank you Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, wrapping him in a hug.

"Yeah. Thanks," Naruto added.

Sakura let go of Kakashi and walked back to Naruto. "So do you have a new team?"

"Yes. I'm supposed to get a new team next week. I'm sure they won't be as interesting as you guys though,"

"Do you know who they are?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I know I have the little Hyuga girl and your friend Konohamaru," he said.

"Konohamaru? I thought Ebisu was his sensei," Naruto asked, puzzled.

"Yes, he was,"

"Was?" Naruto and Sakura asked in unison.

"Ebisu died of a heart attack in his sleep last night," Kakashi said. "What's even sadder is that Konohamaru was the one who found him first,"

"Oh my god. Is he alright?" Sakura asked.

"From what I hear, he is pretty shooken up," Kakashi told them. "You should go see how he's doing,"

Naruto nodded to Kakashi. "Alright. Talk to you later Kakashi-sensei,"

Naruto and Sakura walked out of the Stone Memorial and Kakashi resumed his position on his knees next to the monument. The two Chuunin made their way to the park, one of Konohamaru's favorite hangouts. They found him sitting on a swing, staring at the ground.

"Konohamaru?" Naruto asked.

He looked up at the with red eyes and snot dripping from his nose. "Naruto bro..."

Naruto walked up to him and gave his friend a hug. "I'm sorry Konohamaru,"

"Today was the worst possible day. First I find that Ebisu, basically my only family for the past five years is dead. And then when I try to talk to Hanabi, she tells me she can't stand me,"

"Don't worry about her now," Sakura said, and looked over to Naruto. "She may come around eventually,"

Naruto smiled and looked down to his friend again. "See, the hero always has a happy ending,"

Konohamaru wiped the snot from under his nose with his sleeve and gave a small smile. Naruto placed his hand on his head and looked down at him. "Don't worry. Everything'll be fine. Shit happens, and you just have to deal with it sometimes. I'll talk to you tomorrow Konohamaru, I need some sleep,"

"Bye Naruto bro...bye Sakura,"

"Goodbye Konohamaru," Sakura said.

Naruto and Sakura walked out of the park and started towards their houses. After seeing Konohamaru so down on himself, it had depressed them even more. Not only had they failed their first Chuunin mission, but the person closest to their friend had died. They continued to walk for a few more minutes in silence until Naruto spoke up.

"I hate to see him like that. But there isn't anything we can do but be his friend right now," Naruto said.

Sakura looked over at her upset companion. "Do you really want to go home yet?"

Naruto looked over at her and smiled. "No. No I don't,"

Naruto woke up on a bench near the edge of the forest. He looked down and saw Sakura was using his leg as a pillow. This had been the second night in a row that he and Sakura had spent the night together; and this time was even sweeter than the last. They spent all night talking about different things, mostly their future as shinobi. Naruto slowly lifted Sakura's head off of his lap and got up. He stretched his arms, cracked his back and smiled. Since they weren't home, Naruto decided to go to the closest fast food resturante and buy themselves something to eat.

A few minutes after he left, Sakura woke up. She sat up quickly and franticly looked back and forth for Naruto.

_Did he leave me when I fell asleep?_

As tears came to her eyes, believing Naruto had left her, the blonde Chuunin appeared behind her with food.

"Hungry?" he asked.

She twisted around and saw him smiling at her.

"What's wrong?"

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh, nothing,"

Naruto handed her a bag of food and sat next to her on the bench.

"You do know that your failed mission could have serious after effects?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes Hokage-sama," the Chuunin team said together.

Tsunade sighed heavily. "You are dismissed,"

The Chuunin team sadly walked out of the Hokage tower.

"I can't believe we failed..." Sakura said.

"Maybe Sasuke just doesn't want to be found. Why would he leave Konohagakure in the first place?" Naruto asked.

"And I don't think he's one to play hide and seek," Shikamaru joked.

Just as they reached the gate to Hokage's Tower, Jiraiya appeared out of nowhere.

"Are you ready to leave Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "Let's go Ero-sennin,"

Naruto looked back to his teammates. "Until next time guys,"

"And where are you going?" Neji asked.

"To go train with Ero-sennin. He's the one who taught me that technique I used against Gaara in the Chuunin exam,"

Naruto began to walk toward Jiraiya but Sakura pulled him back. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Heh, sorry Sakura-chan,"

She kissed him and pushed him toward Jiraiya, "Now go train,"

He walked back to his sensei with a red tinge to his cheeks and a slight smile. As they began walking down the road, Jiraiya looked back at Sakura.

"Hmm, nice job Naruto. Who would've though you could get something like that,"

"Ero-sennin!"

Shikamaru and Neji had already left the area of Hokage Tower when Sakura went back up to Tsunade's 'office'.

"Tsunade-sama?" she asked.

"Ah, Sakura. Here to start your training already?"

"Yes Tsunade-sama," she replied.

"I'll get Shizune,"

Tsunade stood up and had Sakura follow her out of the building. They walked to the outskirts of Konohagakure and walked up to a small brick house. Tsunade knocked on the door and walked in.

"Shizune, are you home?"

Shizune walked into the living room and smiled. "Tsunade-sama. Sakura-chan. So nice of you to visit,"

Shizune led them to the kitchen and they sat down. Shizune poured three cups of coffee and brought them to the table to drink. Tsunade took a sip of coffee and placed the cup back onto the table.

"After the Chuunin exam, I asked Sakura to become a medical ninja due to her great chakra control. Would you like to join me and train her?"

"Yes, of coarse Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied. "I'd be happy to,"

Tsunade turned to Sakura and smiled. "We will start our training tomorrow. Meet us in the woods at 6:30am,"

"Yes Tsunade-sama," Sakura replied.

She finished her cup of coffee, excused herself from the table and went home for the night. As she walked, she looked up into the sky.

"Train hard Naruto. I have a feeling we'll all need it,"


	10. Confrontation: Uchiha Squared

**Spiraling Cherries**

**Chapter 10: Confrontation: Uchiha Squared**

**Notes: **Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took sooo long. It was a while before I could get a decent idea for the story. I've decided to speed things up a bit. If you were looking for what happened during the training sessions, you'll have to wait a bit until I put up the forementioned Spiraling Cherries: Lost Chapters. Expect that when I finish the story. And I have exciting news! Now in the works is a sequel to the story. It will circle around Konohamaru and his mission to win Hyuga Hanabi's heart which will be a bit similar to Spiraling Cherries. Anyway...on with the show.

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**3 Months Later**

A scraped up Naruto and his sensei Jiraiya strolled into Konohagakure early in the morning. The day was hot and the humidity made the air heavy and hard to breath. Naruto wiped some sweat from his forehead and staggered over to a chair that sat in the shade of a building. He let out a sigh and tipped his head back.

"That was some trip," he laughed.

"You exceeded my expectations Naruto. Very impressive,"

"Do we have enough power to win?" Naruto asked.

"If you're friends have been training as much as you have then you might have a chance,"

"Might?!" Naruto sputtered. "What do you mean might?"

"You're underestimating their power Naruto. They are two of the strongest and most feared ninjas in the world,"

"I've beaten him before and I can beat him again dammit,"

"But this time he has back up. Not only will you have to worry about him but you'll have to worry about Itachi and Kisame too. Not to mention whoever else he has with him,"

Naruto bent forward and looked at the ground. "For as long asi've known him, he always wanted to kill his brother. Now they're fighting side by side? How is that?" Naruto questioned.

"A simple brainwash maneuver. Itachi saw the untapped power in Sasuke and decided it would be better to have Sasuke to join him rather than be in his way. That's how bad Akatsuki wants the kyuubi inside you,"

"They can want it as bad as they want but i'll never surrender to bastards like them," Naruto growled.

"That's all I ask for Naruto. But I expect for Itachi to have quite the following. That is why i'm staying to fight along with you. I assume Kakashi will join us as well,"

"So...who do we need?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya turned toward him. "We need everyone we can get,"

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Shikamaru was jolted from a sound sleep. A loud tapping noise came from his window. He got out of his bed, opened it up and Naruto jumped inside.

"Hey Shikamaru. How's it going?"

"Naruto!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing back? I thought you were training with Jiraiya,"

"Well...sorta. We trained and we did a bit of recon work,"

"Recon work? What do you mean?"

"We spied on Akatsuki. You know who i'm talking about right?"

"Of coarse I do. Is that why you're back?"

"Yeah," Naruto began. "Here's the situation. Sasuke was captured by Akatsuki and brainwashed so he is now a part of their organization along with Itachi. Their plan is to steal the kyuubi energy that is inside of me to become even more powerful. They're on their way here as we speak. Jiraiya and I are trying to recruit the best ninjas in Konohagakure to defeat them...or at least drive them off. I need you to help me get Neji, Kiba and Asuma. I'll get Sakura and Kakashi,"

"What about Shino and Rock Lee?"

"Lee already knows. I ran into him on the steet. Shino isn't healed from his battle with Sasuke yet. He may never fully recover from what I hear,"

"I'll get them as quickly as I can. Where do you want to meet?" Shikamaru asked.

"At the edge of Konohagakure. Around the area where we went out after Sasuke. See you then,"

Naruto jumped out of the window, hit the ground and ran all the way to Tsunade's cottage in the forest.

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Sakura sat at the kitchen table mixing some sugar into her coffee. Just as she was about to take a sip, the doorbell rang.

"Shizune, do you think you can get that?" Sakura asked.

Shizune got up and went into the living room to answer the door. She opened it and a grinning Naruto stood in the doorway.

"Hey there. Sakura up yet?"

"You're home already?" Shizune asked.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Heh...yeah. We've got some business to attend to,"

"I'll go get Sakura, please come in and make yourself at home,"

Naruto walked in and sat down on a blue couch. He looked around the beautifully furnished room. Many large potted plants were scattered throughout the room along with two matching blue chairs and an oak coffee table. After he finished admiring the room, Sakura walked in. As she set her eyes on Naruto, she accedently dropped her coffee on the ground and began to fix up her hair.

"Oh Naruto! You're back so soon!" she exclaimed.

She ran over to him and tackled him back into the couch as he got up. "What brings you back Naruto?"

"We're in trouble Sakura," he said sternly.

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About five miles away from the hidden leaf village, Itachi and Sasuke lead a group of Akatsuki members toward their former village. They were all dressed in large brown hats, black cloaks, purple nail polish and large slashes through their former country's symbol.

"We're almost there Sasuke. Are you ready to help us?" Itachi asked his little brother.

"But of coarse. I'll do anything to kill Naruto and extract the kyuubi from that useless bastard," Sasuke replied.

"Itachi...do you think we'll be in for much of a fight?" Kisame asked.

"I wouldn't worry about Kakashi, Naruto or any of them for that matter...they're no threat...to us,"

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Naruto, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Shikamaru, Sakura, Neji, Kiba and other ninjas impatiently awaited Akatsuki's arrival.

"I'm going to kill Sasuke for betraying the leaf and joining Akatsuki even if it means dying myself," he mumbled to himself.

Sakura looked over to him and sighed.

_I've never seen him like this before. He must really want to hurt Sasuke and his brother._

Just over the hill in front of them, the silouettes of fourteen Akatsuki ninjas stood in front of the morning sun.

**End Notes: **I will try as hard as I can to get chapter 11 up in less than half the time it took to get this one up. Maybe a few weeks. The big fight is next, expect some surprises.


End file.
